Old Man Logan #5 Review

Writer: Brian M. Bendis / Artists: Andrea Sorrentino & Marcelo Maiolo / Marvel Comics Old Man Logan has been an uneven series for me. In places, the characters and imagery are so well fitting that I didn’t care where the story was going, I just enjoyed the ride. In other places, where the story slowed down, I also didn’t care where the story was going — because I didn’t care. That’s really exemplified in this latest issue. One thing that Bendis has done well is to keep the theme of Logan’s angst over his aging a strong thread throughout the series. Opening this issue with this:

“This is what old is. Confusion. Aches and pains…All I been through in this life, you’d think the world would give me some way to just go home.” It is beautifully done, melancholy but not quite corny. I sympathize with Logan in this book, feel how tired he is, how heavy with regret. Similarly, I’ve really enjoyed Emma Frost’s incarnations. She appears in two or three of the domains, always both impeccably chill and deeply caring.

And it is Emma’s ability to read minds that propels what counts as the plot of this issue forward. She provides Logan with a few, core moments to help him remember the point of it all. With the strength of her mind-reading powers and a few good guesses, Emma offers Logan predictions for his future. And even a few tentative “why this happened to you” answers. It is all exposition-heavy, with Emma Frost providing most of the narration. Culminating in this:

It is well s…